ok, this is an article i found on hoopsworld. it is kind of old, but take it for what its worth. it basically says the t-mac is fighting a loosing battle with his back problems. i dont know how reliable the source is, but its disturbing if true. i highlighted the main parts <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It has been a tough century for Tracy McGrady. His move to Orlando was supposed to be part of a tremendous offseason that made the Orlando Magic the team to beat in the East. You may recall that Grant Hill had already joined the team and Tim Duncan was on his way. That trio was to be the next dynasty, hanging banner after banner in the TD Waterhouse Center. It didn?t work out that way. David Robinson flew in from Hawaii, where he was vacationing with his family, to prevent his teammate and friend from leaving San Antonio. Then Grant Hill immediately went down with a career-threatening injury, leaving Tracy McGrady standing alone to carry the Magic as far as he could take them. It wasn?t far. It got so bad that in 2003-04, when the Magic won just 21 games, Tracy took the last month or so of the season off. <font color=""red"">He was hurting, he was frustrated, and he was talking about retiring from basketball. He was arguably the best player in the NBA, yet no matter how well he played individually the team could not win a basketball game. Tracy did not retire.</font> Instead he forced a trade, telling the Magic he was finished playing for them and would retire before he donned the blue and white jersey again. He would rather pursue his other love: baseball. The Houston Rockets were only too happy to extend McGrady?s basketball career, unloading troubled point guard Steve Francis in a package that brought McGrady to Houston, where most felt he would make the Rockets immediate contenders. The McGrady Yao Ming was not quite what everyone thought it would be, but the Rockets did immediately make the playoffs. They even looked ready for the second round before an energized Dallas team came back to beat them in seven games ? a loss that McGrady took very hard. He vowed to return a better, stronger player. He vowed to take the Rockets to the next level in 2005-06. <font color=""red"">January 8: McGrady pulls up, trying to drill a long three before the halftime buzzer . . .and crumples to the ground. He has to be carried off in a stretcher. He had been bothered by severe back spasms all season, but this looked much more serious. This didn?t look like a ?take a few games off? type of injury. This looked career-threatening. McGrady returned almost two weeks later, but his play since then has been sporadic, and as the season moves along his play continues to degrade ? when he plays, that is. McGrady came out with fire when he did return, averaging 31.5 points per game despite struggling with his jumper. That effort, though, seemed to take an additional toll on his back. When he did play in February he didn?t look right. He managed just 19 points per game and shot a miserable 35% from the field ? clearly a result of the pain in his back. He didn?t move like the McGrady we?ve seen for years, and his legendary ability to take over a game simply wasn?t there. Now he?s sitting out again, nursing that same back injury. The disturbing part about the back injury is that it?s not something that McGrady can have surgery on over the offseason, go through rehabilitation, and then return as good as new. This is more like the back injury that eventually forced Hakeem Olajuwon to retire. It?s a wear and tear issue that really only gets better with rest. The definition of rest does not involve playing 82 games and the playoffs on the professional level. It is becoming clearer and clearer that McGrady?s back is not going to allow him to play at the level at which he is accustomed to playing. The question then becomes: will he retire rather than fight a losing battle with this kind of injury? </font>We?re starting to see a pattern with some of the players who came right out of high school to play NBA ball. Amare Stoudemire suffered a terrible knee injury and it remains to be seen if he can return to the dominant style of play he achieved before the injury. McGrady has been fighting this back injury for a while, and it gets worse with each passing season. These guys are putting tremendous strain on their bodies at a very young age ? the NBA plays quite a few more games than high school or college teams. Maybe the NBA?s age limit will not only improve the quality of young players, but also extend their careers by forcing them into a training program that helps them develop a little more slowly. The Rockets won without McGrady in Minnesota last night, and the new, improved Yao Ming gives Rockets fans hope that even without McGrady this team has a rock solid foundation to build on. <font color=""Red"">Worst case scenario, Tracy retires. Best case, Yao starts to shoulder the primary burden as the leader of team, enabling Tracy to rest his back ? and lengthen his career. </font> </div> link: http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_16461.shtml
Tracy shouldn't give up on bball. Look what happened to Vince near the end of his run in Toronto he has horrendous leg injuries and look how he is dominating. This could be similar and Tracy is good enough to overcome this adversity.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting tinyballer:</div><div class="quote_post">HOOPSWORLD no need to read that crap.</div> yeah, i have no idea how realiable the writers on hoopsworld are, so, like i said, take it for what its worth.
Tracy McGrady needs to be extra careful, and maybe take a season off. Back problems prematurely ended Larry Bird's career. Bird was quoted as saying he could have and should have treated his back problem better. He stubbornly played through it, and it cost him.
this is dumb.. this guy is young.. no way he'll retire. no man i want mac to stay but i still know he wont retire..
Hoopsworld was the same thread who "broke" Latrell Sprewell signing with the Lakers. I'd take their stuff with a grain of salt. McGrady said that he could be back before the end of the season, and there's been no indication otherwise. Hoopsworld has some alright analysis but their "insider" information is mostly made up.
Vince Carter was in Toronto was refusing to play no that any of his injuries were real some of them were probably real but who knowes. Reason being even when he was healthy he refused to dunk or something. I read that he told the Media he would no longer dunk in toronoto. T-Mac truely has back problems but don't look for that to hinder him as he rests and works on that jumper this off season.
Lock this thread up. T-Mac said a few days ago that he was pain free. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> <font size=""4"">McGrady pain-free</font> Rockets forward Tracy McGrady, calling himself "pain-free" but out for the remainder of the season, joined the Rockets for their six-game road trip seemingly more upbeat about his rehabilitation than since a strained back suffered March 8 ended his season. McGrady said he plans to begin workouts in June, his usual offseason routine with additional back-strengthening exercises but no medical treatments beyond the anti-inflammatory injections he has received. "I'm excited about everything," McGrady said. " Yao ( Ming), he's turned himself into a different player. I think he's figured it out. He's not bailing the defense out, even in double teams he's doing a great job." McGrady said he will work through the offseason to strengthen his back to avoid the problems he had this season, though he said the back exercises he has been given are similar to those he has been doing. "I feel good," McGrady said. "It's good to be pain-free. I am looking forward to getting going, but I'm going to start in June like always." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3768982.html</div>
